European Economic
and Social Committee
Future of VAT
Adotados on 14/07/2011
Referência
ECO/293-EESC-2011-1168
Opinion Type
Referral
Referral
Official Journal
Plenary session number
473
-
Key points:
Operational costs for users and administrative charges should be reduced while cutting back attempted fraud. The opinion also points out the needs of consumers.
As regards cross-border transactions, the Committee feels that from a rational point of view, the tax should be levied in the Member State of origin under the same conditions as internal trade. A step-by-step approach should be pursued. The best option would probably be generalised taxation in the Member State of destination while maintaining the principles of the current system. At the same time, the reverse charge mechanism should be generally adopted, optionally at first and then on a compulsory basis.